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Union of Sovereign Socialist States of the Soviet Union (StarCraft universe)
The Russian Federation (Russian: Российская Федерация, tr. Rossiyskaya Federatsiya; IPA: fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə), officially known as the Union of Sovereign Socialist States of the Soviet Union, also officially known as Russia (Russian: Россия, tr. Rossiya; IPA: rɐˈsʲijə), is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a constitutional socialist federation, comprising 33 republics and 181 federal subjects. Russia's capital city is Moscow, which is by far the largest city in Europe and one of the largest cities in the world, and one of the three largest metropolitan areas in the world. Other major cities includes Saint Petersburg, Kiev, Tashkent, Baku and Minsk. From northwest to southeast, Russia share borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Moldova, Romania, Georgia, Turkey, Islamic Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, People's Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, People's Republic of China, Mongolian People's Republic, North Korea, and also share maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, and the United States by the Bering Strait. At 22,402,200 square kilometres (8,649,500 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one-sixth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is also the third most populous nation with over 530 million people as of 2504, with over 77 percent of the population living in European Russia, one of the most densely populated, well-developed and heavily industrialized areas in the world. Extending across the whole of Northern Eurasia, Russia spans nine times zones and incorporates a wide range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's second largest reserves of mineral and natural resources and is the second largest producer of oil and natural gas globally. Russia has the world's second largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's fresh water. The East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, the medieval state of Rus arose in the 9th century. In 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus' ultimately disintegrated into a number of smaller states; most of the Rus' lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion and became tributaries of the nomadic Golden Horde in the 13th century. The Grand Duchy of Moscow gradually reunified the surrounding Russian principalities, achieved independence from the Golden Horde. By the 18th century, the nation had greatly expanded through conquest, annexation, and exploration to become the Russian Empire, which was the third largest empire in history, stretching from Poland on the west to Alaska on the east. Following the Russian Revolution, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic became the largest and leading constituent of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union, the world's first constitutionally socialist state. The Soviet Union played a decisive role in the Allied victory in World War II, and emerged as a recognized superpower and rival to the United States during the Cold War. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the world's first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the world's second largest national economy, largest standing military in the world and the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. Following the signing of the New Union Treaty in August 1991, six independent republics emerged from the USSR: Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and the Baltic states regained independence: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania; the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union reconstituted itself as the Union of Sovereign Socialist States of the Soviet Union and is recognized as the continuing legal personality and a successor of the Soviet Union. It is governed as a constitutional socialist federation. The economy ranks as by far the second largest by nominal GDP and the largest by purchasing power parity in 2504. Russia's extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, and since the discovery of fossil fuels in the Arctic makes it the leading producer of oil and natural gas globally. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. Russia has long been recognized as one of the world's two foremost superpowers, and runs the world's largest and most advanced Russian space program. The two largest space launch facilities in the world, Baikonur Cosmodrome and Vostochny Cosmodrome, are both located in Russia. It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and an active global partner of ASEAN, as well as a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the G8, G20, the Council of Europe, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as being the leading member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the European Union (EU) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).